Our first few minutes in Sicily were spent navigating the streets of Messina, after having arrived on a ferry from the Italian mainland. Honking cars, crazy motorbikes and messy urban lawlessness, it was an immediate taste of the chaos which would accompany our 91 days in Palermo; an antipasto to the capital’s main course of noisy pandemonium. By the time we had gotten through Messina and onto the highway, my nerves were frayed and patience spent, but the wonder and excitement of finally being in Sicily remained intact.

This mixture of positivity and negativity was a sensation I would soon become accustomed to. Over the course of our months here, Palermo revealed itself to be equal parts fascinating and obnoxious. Gratifying and infuriating. Gorgeous and revolting. It’s destabilizing; for months, my mood has been on a pendulum swinging between outrage and joy, happiness and frustration. Without much effort, this could be one of Europe’s great cities. But instead of addressing its problems, Palermo seems to have accepted them as an immutable part of its fabric. The Mafia? That’s our thing. Rubbish on the streets? Shrug. Ridiculous gridlock? That’s life.

Palermo’s problems are real, and there’s no denying the damage they cause to the experience of visiting, and to the everyday lives of its citizens. But Palermo has so much to offer that you can look past the negatives, even if you can’t wholly forgive them. There’s so much history here, and so much culture. The food is so incredible, the markets so lively, the people so welcoming. There are so many incredible churches and palaces. So much art. Great shopping. Fun bars and cozy trattorias. No, to concentrate on the negative aspects of this city would be to completely miss the picture.

We had a blast in Palermo. From the day we arrived until now, we’ve hardly rested. It’s not easy for a city to entertain a newcomer for three full months, but Palermo never ran out of ideas. The first month was spent running from church to church, museum to museum, like tourists on crack. During the next, we settled down into the rhythm in the city, and discovered the richness and diversity of the Palermitano lifestyle. And in these final weeks, we’ve been exploring both the regions around Palermo, and those further afield. For an island about the size of Vermont, there is an astonishing amount to see in Sicily. Overwhelming.

So, as we shut the door on another chapter of our lives, it’s not surprising that I find myself with mixed emotions. I’m excited to be rid of the insane traffic, for example, but I don’t know how I’ll be able to say “farewell” to the arancini. That might break me. In any case… Palermo, our experiences in Sicily, the new friends we’ve made here, the vespas we’ve dodged, the amazing food we’ve eaten and the things we’ve seen… I don’t think we’ll be forgetting any of it, any time soon.

-Our Published Travel Books

Before we moved to Palermo, we had the great fortune of making contact with the guys behind Visit Palermo. They helped us find an apartment, gave us a ton of advice, and have assisted our stay in the city in too many ways to count. And not only are they incredibly helpful; they’re about the coolest people you could hope for.

Maurizio, Andrea and Pietro are the team behind Visit Palermo. The project began a few years ago, after the group of friends recognized a dearth of useful tourism infrastructure in the city. They launched their website to help newcomers and guests to the city, and do so in a variety of ways. If you’re looking for an apartment for a short-term stay, they have a variety of flats for every need. They organize tours, and even offer a car rental service. And their list of what’s on in Palermo, from exhibitions to concerts, is comprehensive and up-to-date.

Since we’ve been here so long, we’ve had the opportunity to get to know the team really well. Maurizio is a life-long Palermitano, and his knowledge and familiarity of the city knows no bounds. He was a DJ for years — and perhaps the best help he’s provided us has been excellent tips on Palermo’s coolest bars. Andrea is his wife; she’s originally from Argentina, and moved permanently here after falling in love with the city. In addition to being incredibly helpful, they’re fun, enthusiastic people.

If you’re planning to spend any time in Palermo, whether for business or pleasure, definitely get in touch with Visit Palermo. They’ve really made our stay more comfortable and easier than it had any right to be. In fact, Jürgen just recently said that the best way to experience the city was “(1) Contact Visit Palermo and (2) relax”. That’s about right.

Visit Palermo – Website
On Facebook

Christmas Gift Ideas

Palermo is the kind of loud, in-your-face city about which it doesn’t take long to form strong first impressions. The beauty, noise, trash, history and lively street life don’t hide themselves, and I suspect that our initial feelings about the city will not change a lot over the course of the next couple months.

Most Memorable

Mike: I will never be able to shake the nightmarish visages of the corpses in the Capuchin Catacombs from my memory.

Jürgen: I will be always able to recall the smell of the bakery around the corner from us. The scent of freshly baked breads with a touch of sesame wafting up to us every day… mmmm…

Favorite Food

Mike: I’ve been treating myself to far too many cannoli. So good.

Jürgen: Too many things to choose from but I guess that I’m most in love with Palermo’s fried street food, especially the arancine.

Most Surprising

Mike: I was stunned to learn how active the Mafia is here. For some reason, I thought they were a part of the past, but nope. Not at all.

Jürgen: How similar the old town feels to the historic center of Valencia (our home base in Spain), but then again both cities were ruled by the same King, so it makes sense.

Most Disappointing

Mike: I had been really excited about moving to the Vucciria after reading about its colorful and crazy market. Sadly, the market has almost completely disappeared, due to recent reconstruction efforts in the neighborhood — I’ve seen so many disappointed tourists wandering through; guidebooks make it sound incredible. Maybe it was.

Jürgen: The traffic and public transportation. I can’t believe how completely neglected pedestrians are, and how dangerously they have it. Also, the #105 bus is laughable. I’ve waited over an hour on that thing… it just never comes!

Funniest / Weirdest

Mike: The kids who live below us are a constant source of humor — whether they’re dancing on the balcony to club music in their underwear, or engaging us in a long conversation about their new puppy (oblivious to the fact that we don’t understand a word).

Jürgen: People don’t use phones here. Instead they step out onto the balcony and scream over at their cousin, to ask if they want to come by for dinner tonight. ANTOOONIOOOOO!

How Expensive? From 1 (cheap) to 10 (expensive)

Mike: 7. You can eat cheap if you stick to street food, but Palermo’s still one of the pricier destinations we’ve visited. Museums and touristy sights seem to be especially costly.

Jürgen: 7. If you shop at the markets, you can find great prices, but it really depends who serves you. I’m always paying a different price for the same goods.

People from Palermo are…

Mike: … always driving Vespas like maniacs. And shouting about something.

Jürgen: … eager to talk to you even when you signal that you don’t understand a word of Italian

Palermo in Three Words

Mike: Messy, Historic, Fattening

Jürgen: Baroque, Loud, Seafood

Agree? Disagree? Let us know what your impressions of the city are in the comments! It’ll be interesting to see if we keep these opinions over the next couple months. And to see if Sicily manages to change us at all… already, I’ve noticed that Juergen and I are beginning to shout at each other, in place of talking.

Everything You Need To Know About The Mafia

Although their presence is practically invisible to tourists, the Mafia is very much a reality for the residents of Palermo. One of the most tangible nuisances is the pizzo: the “protection fee” that Sicilian business owners are compelled to pay to the Cosa Nostra.

The pizzo is no joke: an estimated 80% of Palermo businesses pony up. Across Southern Italy, the Mafia is thought to earn around €20 billion a year via this kind of extortion. The rates charged start at a few hundred euros a month for small neighborhood shops, and into the thousands for larger construction firms. Sometimes, companies will be compelled to put a clan member on the payroll, or award contracts to specific firms.

Those who don’t pay are taking a big risk. Arson, harassment and even murder can be the penalty. In 1990, a Palermo businessman named Libero Grassi published an open letter in the Giornale di Sicilia denouncing the extortionists and publicly refusing to pay the pizzo. Less than a year later, he was gunned down, three bullets in the head. Since his murder, Grassi has become something of a folk hero, but while alive he was shunned by many other business owners and customers fearful of reprise.

The problem is that the Mafia means business and everyone knows it. Theirs are not hollow threats, and that makes the work of an organization called Addiopizzo all the more impressive. With a slogan that reads “A whole people who pays the pizzo is a people without dignity”, Addiopizzo encourages people to shop only at pizzo-free businesses. The grassroots movement started in 2004, after a group of friends who planned on opening a pizzería were angered by the realization they’d have to pay the Mafia. Their frustration manifested itself in stickers placed around the city denouncing the pizzo, and the movement quickly found a foothold among a fed-up populace.

With the special protection of police and virulent public support, a growing number of Palermo shops are operating with no Mafia influence. There’s even a supermarket across the street from our apartment with the provocative name “Punto Pizzofree”. (Though the store right next to it, I kid you not, is called “Don Corleone”).

Addiopizzo is an initiative that deserves the recognition, support and dollars of anyone who visits Palermo. Of course, nobody wants to pay the pizzo, but those who refuse to do so should be rewarded for their courage.

Addiopizzo – Website (English)
-Mafia Games

Learn About The Sicilian History

A few days before we moved to Palermo, we filmed a segment for Televisión Española’s new program, Más Gente. It makes us cringe to listen to our Spanish, but they did an excellent job with the clip! And if you’ve ever wanted to see our frequent-flyer dog, Chucky, now’s your chance.

What do you think? It was a really exciting opportunity for us… too bad they never mentioned our blog’s name during the clip!